Clamp for meat-slicing machines



' 1. HOPKFNSON,

CLAMP FOR MEAT SLIVCING MACHINES,

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 8,1920. 1,366,658.

5. HOPKINSON.

CLAMP FOR MEAT SUCING MACHINES.

APPLlcAsoN HLED JUNE s, 1920.

Patented Jan. 25, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED -STA'lE .eili'lidki FFICE.

JOSEPH HOPKINSON, GF DAYTON', OHIO, A SSGNGR TO THE COMPUTING: SCALECOMPANY, OF DAYTON, OHIO, A COELGRATICN O OHIO.

CLAMP FOR MEAT-SLCING lVIACl-IINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 25, 1921.

Application led .Tune 8, 1920. `Serial No. 387,336.

To all fwLOmV/mag/ concern.'

Be it known that l, Josnrr-I HorKrNsoN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Dayton, Montgomery county, and State of Ohio, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Clamps :tor Meat-.SlicingMachines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

This invention relates to meatslicing ma# chines, and pertains moreparticularly to the clamp for holding the meat on the tray which isslidable on the reciprocating table by whichthe meat is carried into andout of engagement with the slicing knife. In machines ci' this typethere is always left a butt end of the meat which is too short to beproperly gripped and held by the ordi nary clamp, and various clampshave been devised for the purpose of shortening this butt-end, that isto say7 clamps which can grip the meat as closely to the end as pos`sible, leaving only a short length in rear of the clamp. The priordevices, however, are rather complicated and relatively costly, nor arethey wholly satisfactory. lt is ac-` cordingly the object of my presentinvention to provide an improved clamp of simple and durableconstruction capable loigripping the meat at the extreme end therebyreducing the butt-end practically to the minimum. To this and other endsthe invention consists in the novel features oi' construction andcombinations of elements hereinafter described. g I

One form of the invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings,`in which:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view showing a meat-slicingmachine of the general type for which the present form of my inventionis designed. f

Fig. 2 is a iront view of the meat clamp, embodying my invention in itspreferred Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view about on line 3-3 of Fig. 2..p

Fig. 4 is a side view of the clamp shown `in rig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a plan view ci the sheet metal blank `from which the uppergrippenplate is made.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a portion of the sheet-metal blank from whichthe lower gripper-plate is made.

In the machinefillustrated in Fig. 1 the piece of meat which is to besliced is held.A

on the tray 10 by means of the teeth 11-12 r.lhe bed 13, which carriesthe tray 10, is reciprocated as indicated by the arrows to carry themeat against and back from the disk-knife 14, and at each cut the'trayis advanced by an amount equal to the thickness of one slice. Y Y

The two vertical standards 15, 16, are firmly iixed at the sides of thetray 10 near lts forward edge, and on their inner faces are Y formedwith downwardly` disposed ratchet teeth 17 for engagement by the stops.18, 19, mounted inside therecessed clamping member 2O and movablehorizontally therein by means oi' the cam 21 actuated by the hand lever22 at the back of said meniber, ,the cam being rigidly. mounted on astud 23 jcurnaled in the saidA member and in the toothed gripper plate24. To fasten a piece of meat the lever 22 is depressed, therebyretracting the stops 18, 19 against the coil springs 26, 27,which-normally urge the stops outwardly. The clamping meinber can now beraised by means of the handle 28. The meat is then placed under saidmember and the lever raised, thereby advancing thestops into engagementwith the ratchet teeth on the standards. The clamp ing member is nowdepressed, causing the upper and lower clamping teeth 29, 30, to enterthe meat and so hold the latter securely. Fig. a indicates in dottedlines at 31 a small piece of meat gripped in the manner described. Theslots S2 in the cam 21, which engage the pins in the stops 18, 19, toactuate the saine, are large enough to permit said pins and stops tomove inwardly when the cam is in the position shown in Fig. V2, therebypermitting the pointed outer ends of the ,stops to'pass the teeth 17 asthe clamping member depressed. `When the stops become too worn to beserviceable they can easily be replaced. For this purpose the clampingmember is lifted off the standards and the toothed plate 25 is removedby taking out the screws 231i. The pins (which may be threaded in thestops) can then be removed, or the cam can be removed from the stud 23,after which the stops can be slipped out through the apertures 35.

The upper toothed plate'25 is preferably made from a blank 36, stampedof sheetmetal, preferably non-corrosive, of suitable gage. ln the blankshown the tooth-edges 37, which are the iront edges of the teeth 29,

Y very end of the meat to be held in position are preferably vertical,and the teeth are VformedV at the lower ends of the. inclined arms 38formed between the inclined slots 39. The teeth on the blank are'bentupwardly I oroutwardly at right angles to the body of the blank onfthelines 40, as shown in Fig. 2, so that the teeth 29 are placed ivell inad.-

vance ofthe front surface of the plate, with their' vertical edgestoward the front, as

clearly indicated in Fig. l. This position ofV the teeth permits thestandards 1 5, 1G, to be placed well in rearof the front edge of thetray 10,' therebyY affording ample clearance whenthe table is initsextreme forward po-VV sition, Vand at thefsaine tiineV permits the toVencounter the knife.

The lower gripper plate, ell, Figs. 2 and 4:, is preferably made from ablank such as shown at 42 Fig; 6. This blank is Vmade by cuttinginclined slits 43 in a strip of sheetmetal (preferably non-corrosivesheetsteel of suitable gage). The parts 44,. between the slits, are thenbentupwardly at right `angles to the strip, to ferm theV teeth 30.,

TheV plate il` is fastened to .the tray, as by brazing or :by means ofscrews, not shown, with the vertical frontV edges of its teeth in theplane'of the vertical edges 3i of the upY per teeth,' but thel teethV onthe two plates are'preferably staggered, as shown in Fig. 2", so that'ifnecessary or desirable, as may happen Withra thin piece of meat, thepoints of the teeth can'pass eachother. It is'also desirable to haveVthe upp'er teeth progres-- Y -sively'long'er from the innermost teethout#Y 'wardlm to4 permit a rounded piece oflnieat to'bemore securelygripped; Y

1. A meatclamp adapted to clamp meat to the Ytable ofameat-slicingmachine, compris!V ing,r in combination with: the tray and thevertically adjustable' clamping m`einbei',ofV

clampin'pjf` teeth carriedby the trayhaving a substantiallyV straightfront edge substantiallyin alinement'with-the front of the tray andbeveled rear edges, ofV a second setofV coaetingclamping teeth carriedby theed- Y machine forV securing meat'ther'eto, compiisjust/ableclamping member, said teeth having and Vbeyeled rear edges.

' 12. A meat clamp adapted to; :retainrmeat upon the tray ofvameat-slicing machine comprising in combination, aclainping inem- V ber,a gripperplate. secured' thereto, said gripper plate having a pluralityof gripper teeth 'thereon integral' withV theplate, andYV bentat rightangles thereto, and means on' the meat tray .adapted to coperate withthe said'teeth and te secure the meat Vin position. meat-gripping deviceadapted' to be associated withathemeat clamp of a slicing ingaplate-like'member' Vof sheet metal", a plurality ofsheet metal teethintegral with interact therewith in` 'gripping said plate-like member`and bent at substantially right angles thereto to space vthe tips ofthe Vteeth outV of the plane'of the plate, said teeth having beveledrear edges.

4c. A meat-gripping device adapted for usev on a meat-Slicer comprisinga plate-like member having a plurality of arms projecting therefrom atone edge thereof, saidprojecting arm portions being bent at' an angle tothe plane of the plate to forni a series of individual nieatlgripping'teeth. i

5. A meatgripping device fora iiiea'ter slicercomprising a plurality ofYcoacting meat-gripping elements, one of said elementsl comprising aplate having a plurality of teeth bent at' an angle to the plane of theVplate to` Space the tips of the teeth to one side of theplane oftheplate,said second coactd ing gripping element comprising a' platehaving a plurality of rteeth bent upward therefrom toward the teethI ofthe fi"rst-inen-Yv tioned' ,(:Ifripping'lv element.

6.7The invention set forth in'claiiiiin which thevteeth of one? of thegripping elements are of various lengths to properlyfre'- ceive piecesof meatfhaving'a curved configu-v pf saidfpiate, .said inclined! armshaving p0r- "tov the clamping' member, a;` plurality' of i-ny Vtegraiinclined arms upon the lewer edge' Y tions thereof teni:v atsubstantially 'right' angles'- tof the plane of the plate to` YspacetheV tips of the arms; outofthe plane' of the; plate', Ysaid projectingportions of said arms forni ing ka series of individualA meat-grippingteeth and" coaeting' gripping teeth carried by the traycopei-atiirg'vvitli the aforesaid teeth to secure a` piece' of meat inposition` to' be sliced. f V"sul'istaiiti'ally Vstraight vertical frontedges 9. V`In a clamp for a nieat''slicer` in' combination with theupper clamping element and thelower supporting tray, of a sheet-` meta-lplatesecuredV to the lower supportingtray portion, said plate havinginclinedi slitsf at the forward edgeV thereof!V and' teeth formed:

of the metal betvveenV adjacent-slits andfbent l'lO Vup*substantially atright'angles totheplane Y ofi theV plate `whereby theginclined slit edgeformsV the' rearwardly beveledfportioir Vof each tooth `andthe frontedge of the plate forms; the straight front edge of each tooth, andcoacting, teethV carried by the upper clamping element. i

. 10i In a clamp-for ameat slicingmachine A in combinationwith an upperclamping membeil of a sheet metal plate secured to the forward edge ofsaid Clamping member, a plurality of angular slots in the lower edge otsaid plate, of a plurality of depending arme havinga beveled edge and avertical edge, said arms joining said plate intermediate the angularslots, said arins being bent at an angle to the plane of the plate toform meat gripping teeth having their tips to one side of the plane ofthe plate and having a substantially straight vertical edge and abeveled rear edge formed by the corresponding edges of the dependingarms.

l1. The invention set forth in claim l0 in which the tray portion isprovided With co- 15 In testimony whereof I hereto aix my 20 signature.

JOSEPH HOPKINSON.

